The racist "Times"
For the second time in as many weeks, a blatantly racist headline in your newspaper has made me cringe.
The first time was in an article that you published about a visiting poet ("African-American poet broadens horizons," March 7, page 11), in which you not only mentioned that he was black several times -- which astute readers might have gathered from his picture -- but actually printed a quote by an ignorant publisher, something to the effect of, "Tall and black as he is, he didn't look like a poet." While I thought about writing at the time, I let it go by. This time, however, to do so would be akin to aiding and abetting racism.
I am, of course, referring to the page 1 Inside box of Mar. 26, which read "Colored Oscars," a headline which no self-respecting English-language newspaper (except one that openly promotes racism) would permit.
While it would be easy to blame this recurring problem on poor editing skills, I tend to believe that these racist gaffes are intentional. Both The Tai-wan News and The China Post are equally guilty of editing lapses, but these are usually mistakes of grammar and punctuation. Your paper, on the other hand, seems to miss no opportunity in constructing text and headlines that are not so much "erroneous" as "intentionally offensive," and I am growing more and more of the opinion that there is somebody on the upper end of the editing chain who is using the Taipei Times to promote their own, petty racist views.
With every anti-black jab that gets printed in the Times, Taiwan itself suffers the indignity of being pegged as a nation that tolerates racism.
Joshua Samuel Brown
Hsintien
On March 25, I looked at the front page of your paper and an alluring photo of a woman in the Inside box next to the heading "Sex in the city." When I went to the specific page I saw something all too usual in Taiwan -- the exploitation of a woman's body.
Of course the photo was connected to the story, but why not show some class and concern for young readers by covering the nipple in the photo? If you have no problem featuring nude women, then perhaps you should also treat the public to nude men. Either you have standards or not. The paper seems to be going in the direction of much of Taiwan's media: Sex sells and let's see how much we can get away with.
On March 26 I picked up the paper to notice the heading: "Colored Oscars." What type of garbage, stupidity, ignorance and racist filth is this? Your paper seems to have editors and reporters of high caliber, but placing this on the front page makes it seem as though none of you has any common sense or awareness. When Ang Lee's (李安) movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won its many Oscars did you relate his movie's winning to the word "colored?" Lee is not white.
Black people or people of African descent/heritage have won Oscars before, although not many. The only thing special about that night was that it was the first time a black man and black woman won Oscars for best actor/actresses at the same time and it was the first time for a black woman to win the leading actress award. So it was something to write about. But to use an outdated, unacceptable and derogatory term is stupid.
If all of you at the Times (especially those directly responsible) do not know what the acceptable terms and names are that people call themselves by then you had better start doing your research -- starting from the top.
N.D. James
Taipei
Escalator a waste
Your paper reported the opening of Taipei's first pedestrian bridge escalator as if it is a good thing (Mar. 25, front page photo). I disagree. It is an unnecessary convenience and a waste of power.
Most able-bodied people should be able to walk up a few steps and, even if they don't like to, they should have to walk because it's good for them. If the city government really cared about the people it would make them walk and get some exercise rather than giving them this couch-potato's dream.
The little kid using the new escalator in the Times picture may well have just come out of or been on his way to a fast-food restaurant or convenience store where he may have just consumed several thousand calories of junk food. When the kids in Taipei get out of school every afternoon the fast-food joints and convenience stores are packed as they get their high sugar, high fat and high-carbohydrate snacks, spending more in the process than an Afghan family earns in a week.
Every so often in the local media we see reports about obese kids. The last thing Taipei kids and people in general need is an escalator ride. Walking up steps might be the only exercise many people get.
Turn off the escalator!!! It should be open only to mothers with prams, the old and infirm or the disabled. Able-bodied people between the ages of 4 and 60 should be made to walk up the stairs, even if they don't want to. And the same applies to the lifts in the MRT.
Kevin Lax
Hsintien
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